Thursday, March 13, 2014

Stash down bust

My stash down has been a bust so far! January went by smoothly, I had no impulses to buy any yarn and I finished my third Lonely Tree Shawl.



 I was doing so good until mid February when I decided it would be 'ok' to buy some Knit Picks Felici yarn. First off I just want to say how much I enjoy this yarn. Yes sometimes the colors are spotted, the dye job isn't always the neatest, however, the yarn is incredibly soft and its superwash! My feet love it! Unfortunately it is being discontinued this year. This is a fairly new to me yarn, I have one set of socks from it already and had a few more colorways to use for later but not nearly enough that I felt like I would be ok if it discontinued. I NEEDED more....correction my FEET needed MORE! So I did what any enthusiast would do, I stocked up on the colors they still had in  stock. I used up a certificate I had for Knit Picks which was part of my stash down allowance-so far so good right? Wrong! I didn't stop there I just bought twice as much then went destashing on Ravelry. now have enough yarn to make about a dozen and a half pairs of socks and some more. I also just put in an order for two more skeins of their Jelly Bean colorway as well as two skeins of their stroll sock tweed to try it out. These came in the mail yesterday and I cast on the Jelly Bean right away, it being used for a baby project for one of my mother's co-workers....so technically its not really going in my stash.  I also bought a couple mini skein bundles from Amanda over at GnomeAcres (these I am not counting towards my stash) as well as her new doppelgänger set for Little Bunny Foo Foo. I preordered it with a half skein of the violet even though I wish I could have half a skein of the pink and blue as well. Her seasonal yarn was also an allowance on my stash down and I already said no to her valentine colorways so i guess my purchases are justifiable. If I were actually knitting and finishing projects the way I was back in the fall I wouldn't feel so guilty about then. Right now though I have a major case of cast off-itis and all I seem to be doing is casting items on, getting half way through and then stopping. My his and her socks are coming along at a snail's pace. I am about an inch past the heels. I love the way they are looking and am enjoying the cable design once I get going on it, however, I hate the idea of knitting them. I am just not feeling them enough to pick them up and knit. I also started Julie's (from Little Cotton Rabbits) boy fox pattern.  All the little pieces ate knit and just need to be seamed and finished. Which I am once again not feeling motivated to do. I will eventually just not right now. 

February hasn't been a complete waste though. I have actually been very busy. For starters I began working at new job and I learned how to cross stitch. I have always wanted to learn and was finally motivated by 'Once Upon A Time' sampler from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I am a bit behind with the clues but really like how its coming out. I will try to blog about it a bit later when I have more completed. Besides cross stitching I have been working on my blanket and almost completed a full color stripe. My goal has been to knit a full stripe each month. I'm doing pretty well with this goal, though I am slacking this month. Since I have been on a Felici addiction, a couple weeks ago I cast on for a new pair of socks in the Fizz colorway and have completed sock number 1. Its a very simple design using a mock cable for decoration which I can knit up mindlessly while I watch tv or read a book. Perfect for the weekend! 


And last but not least I have spent this week spinning! I know it has been so long since I mentioned spinning here but I had nothing to share. Spinning has been pretty much non-exsisting in my life these past couple years. I bought an E-spinner from Heavenly Handspinning and as much as I wanted to love it I just haven't. It's a great little spinner but isn't for me. I thought I would love working at a faster pace so I could crank out more yarn but I find it very frustrating and hard to manage. I much prefer the  pace of my wheel. When I'm using my wheel I feel connected to it and there is something very calming about that. With that being said I have decided to eventually sell my E-spinner and am thinking about selling my current wheel and upgrading to a Ladybug. I will not make the jump to the Ladybug until I start spinning again and it continues to be a hobby I get involved in on a regular basis. I also want to be able to try one out first. Right now I am spinning up a batt I bought back in 2012 from Amanda of GnomeAcres. It's a llama, merino, bamboo, & faux cashmere blend and is absolutely amazing! 


It is by far the best experience I have had spinning. The fiber is soft and lofty making the drafting almost effortless, but best of all is that there is enough texture to it that its doesn't slip out of my hands to fast and break all the time. The fibers are spinning up strong and I have only dealt with a couple spots of breakage. Usually when my single snaps when I am spinning I have a terrible time getting the fiber to join again, but not in this case, the fibers join so easily! I get in a zone and off I go. It's been so nice! I love it!



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see how your newly spun yarn knits up. The colors look great. Love the shawls!

Marjorie.

Sara (a.k.a Sarloz) said...

Thanks! I can't wait either actually. I think it wants to be a lacy shawl or cowl.